I have long had a tricky relationship with my mobility.
As a teenager, I damaged my left shoulder to the extent that only a small amount of pressure would fully dislocate my arm. For a great many years that would have a significant bearing on my choice (or lack) of exercise, and on my life choices in general.
As I approached the end of my 20s – a decade ago now – some new microsurgery techniques fixed me up (thank you NHS), and suddenly I found myself able to train.
As is often the case for men of that age, weights held an obvious allure, as did boxing. Both I’ve enjoyed over the years. Running I never really understood. Yoga I near-hated after some bad experiences.
At nearly 39, I am reasonably strong-framed, admittedly with a bit of a tummy sat on top thanks to dietary choices, but for the last year or so I’ve found myself troubled by mobility annoyances.
Nothing life-destroying, but present enough to leave me weary after too long at a desk, or sleeping a little awkwardly. My self-taught weight training that once felt easy is now a little harder to recover from, and over-indulgence in boxing drills takes a revenge the next morning.
What I suppose I’m saying is that I’m getting older, and it was therefore incredibly good timing when Mara asked me to work with her on MDHP. Armed with the knowledge that we’d be meeting or video-chatting weekly to discuss the business, it seemed silly not to capitalise on that by taking the journey that our potential clients would be signing up for themselves. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some reservations about taking Pilates lessons at home.
Will Pilates Lessons at Home Be Right For Me?
First of all, yoga had left me cold on previous forays, and to my (limited) knowledge, there were significant similarities with Pilates. Would my lack of enthusiasm carry over?
Secondly, due to a combination of past laziness concerning my mobility and worries over my old shoulder injury, was Pilates going to be beyond me?
And thirdly – I’m aware this is vain – would I look any better? It wasn’t the deal breaker but approaching that sweet spot for midlife crisis age has made me pretty conscious about my body, not least when venturing into gyms surrounded by lads going full Marvel Movie and chugging protein.
Pushing those fears to one side with a slightly manic optimism, I booked Mara for a Pilates home visit – 45 minutes getting to grips with the basics.
How is Pilates Different to Yoga?
With the caveat of course that I am neither a Pilates teacher nor a regular yoga practitioner, I can at least tell you that learning the former has some notable stylistic differences, at least to a beginner like me.
Specifically, context is everything. I’m a practical person at heart, and the gentle explanations of *why* I’m moving my body a particular way, or *where* I’ll feel it with correct form, made a huge difference to me. That’s particularly true in comparison to more spiritual/less-technique-
Ultimately though, it’s easy enough to see that learning one will be a gateway to the other. I’ve realised only a couple of lessons in that I would now be less worried about taking a yoga class, and feel more confident in my form than I did previously.
Will Pilates be Difficult to Learn Starting as an Adult?
What I’ve realised about Pilates is that a teacher on a home visit (or during a class) spends quite a lot of time watching you move. Mara set out simple exercises to get me started, made sure I was copying her correctly, then stood back, walked around me, and watched how my body undertook those movements.
From there, exercise paths started to be formed accordingly and uniquely to my strengths and weaknesses, creating the shapes and movements that would help me understand my body better, then to correct form and posture under her guidance.
Pilates is in a sense playful, in that – much like a toddler learning to walk – you’re finding out about movement available to you and learning to build on that by folding and straightening tour body into shapes. When I stretch out, how do my shoulder blades move? If I deliberately shift balance, how does gravity try to subvert posture, and how do I correct that over time?
It’s this exploratory nature that makes the class feel like a challenge, but always just within your means. A teacher will see where you might struggle, adjust accordingly, and never push you to discomfort. I found myself sweating during the lesson, but never sore, never nerves twinging.
I will I hope become more flexible as lessons continue, but even now I feel as though I’m getting a lot out of these early classes.
Will Pilates Help my Body Tone Up?
It’s surprising quite how much subtle shifts in body posture, and changing of emphasis on weight, can test you.
I have reasonable upper body strength and a relatively poor core/lower body strength (due to an aversion to leg day), and it’s fair to say that the overall body workout has been the equal of, say, boxing drills or a solid swim in the pool. The latter in particular – you’re testing yourself without worries of impact or unruly weight, and you’re coming out the other side with an overall sense of stronger core, and a firmer connection to yourself that can’t help but have you self-correcting posture the next day.
What Should I Expect From my First Home Pilates Lesson?
It’s worth noting that the above observations have been written in hindsight to the tune of several weeks. I’m now three lessons in, and to separate out that first lesson, the best way of putting it is showing yourself and your teacher how your body moves, and making small strides in testing against your own balance and strength to begin a journey of gradual, steady progress.
If you’re thinking of booking a home Pilates visit with us but have questions as a beginner, you’re welcome to email me or Mara directly here – I’m happy to share more on my own journey, and hope I can be helpful with my perspective as a new student.
Rob
If you’d like to learn more about booking Pilates lessons at home in London, click here.